You're Stuck With Me
by Diabetic.T1
Summary: Takes place during 2x22. Damon's always been there for Elena. But what if he's the one in trouble? Klaus doesn't have the cure for a werewolf bite and so it's up to Elena to save Damon. Through all the chaos of Mystic Falls Damon and Elena must conquer friends, siblings, and the supernatural beings. My version of what happened at the end of 2x22
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note-So this is a story that I've been working on for a while now. I know I have another story that isn't finished but this story plot has been nagging me for a while now. Please review and let me know what you think. **

**So basically this story takes place right when Damon and Elena share their first 'real' kiss as he lays dying in his bed. This will be my version of the story. Stefan didn't get the cure from Klaus because in my version the cure isn't Klaus' blood. That's all I'm saying.**

* * *

"_Lately I been, I been losing sleep.  
__Dreaming about the things that we could be.  
__Baby I been, I been prayin' hard."  
__Counting Stars_ by One Republic

* * *

Their lips touched softly as tears dropped down her soft cheeks. They mixed with his sweat covered face and for the briefest of moments Damon was sure he was dead and in some kind of heaven because there was just no way Elena would allow him one single kiss.

When Elena pulled away they both knew he was about to take his last breath. His cold heart was barely beating and his body was shaking in her small arms.

Damon shut his eyes, not wanting Elena to see the life drain out of him and he waited.

Nothing…

He could feel his body being cocooned by the girl he was in love with. Her long hair tickled his clammy forehead. Her fingers were shaking just as much as his body while they continuously ran through his raven locks and over his chest.

A low grown spluttered from his dry lips and Damon had never felt so pathetic. Why wasn't he dead yet?

Pulling away from Elena's arms he coughed up blood on his very expensive sheets. He kept his body turned from Elena's as he gagged on his own life source.

Elena soothed and shushed him while she continued to rub her warn hands over his back.

"It's okay," she hurriedly said. It sounded as if she was trying to convince herself more than him. "Everything's going to be okay." She paused to take a steadying breath. "Jesus, I thought…" Trailing off her hands slowly turned his body and she gave him a small, pity smile.

Elena's right hand grazed his cheek and it mesmerized Damon to complete silence as her soft thumb swiped under his lip to clean off the extra blood. She was biting her lip and her eyes held unanswered questions, but Damon was impressed with how she was keeping her composure.

"I think you need more blood." Elena searched behind herself for the tumbler that was filled to the rim, but there was hardly any left in the cup. Uneasiness filled the air as fright, nerves, and worry filled Elena's face. "Damon…"

He knew there was no more blood. Damon even knew that there were no more blood bags too. "It's okay," he reassured hoarsely. He squeezed his eyes shut as a pain rippled through his body and he took a staggering breath. "It shouldn't be long now."

"But maybe if you had more blood then we would have more time and then Stefan will come back with the cure and everything will be fine," Elena insisted strongly. There was no room for argument and so Damon played along for now.

"You're right," he rasped out. "We still have hope." Damon was lying through his teeth. Hope was tossed out the window.

"I can't get more blood. Sheriff Forbes is looking for me and you and I can't be seen in town right now. There has to be more blood here." Elena looked around frantically as if blood would magically appear in his room.

"Elena," Damon reached his hand out but he couldn't touch her. She was up and out of his bed, tearing through his drawers and shoving items to the ground as she searched desperately.

"Why don't you have blood up here?" She yelled.

"You can't save everyone, Elena." Damon's eyes pleaded with Elena to come back to bed and to just let him die in her arms. That was the only thing he wanted and what happened next he never would have expected.

"You have to drink," Elena stated. She was thinking out loud and normally Damon would tease her for talking to herself, but this time he found that savoring the memory was better than ruining the moment. She ran her hands through her hair and the moment her hand grazed the side of her head, close to the wound he created, a light went off in Elena's mind.

"You have to drink." Elena walked closer to the bed. "Drink me."

"You're delusional. I'll kill you," Damon hissed. He pushed himself up and he honestly had no idea where his inner strength was coming from. All he knew was that he had to get away from Elena so she wouldn't do anything stupid.

"Damon," Elena pressed on. She grabbed his arm as he tried exiting his bed on the other side. His movements were slow and deliberate, but Elena followed him. She kneeled on his bed and continued to hold him so he couldn't leave. "Drink me. You need blood."

He wouldn't look at her, but she gripped his chin and forced his eyes to land on hers. "Get away from me," he growled. If he wasn't in love with this girl then he would push her away.

Elena steadied her hands on his shoulders and matched his stubbornness. "I'm not giving you an option; just like you didn't give me an option when you forced blood into my mouth." Her words stung as he was reminded of his desperate choices that he forced on her.

"I'm not in control. You don't know what you're doing." Damon tried again but his energy was fading and he nearly collapsed down on the bed again but Elena held onto him; bruising her tiny fingers into his shoulders.

"I'm sorry," she whispered before drawing back her hand and flinging her fist into his jaw. He had been slapped by her countless times but he had never been punched by her. There were numerous times when he could have been punched by her but he easily deflected her, however, with being sick, he had no energy.

"Drink, Damon," she commanded.

He looked at her with sunken in eyes. He was a man of defeat and it tugged at Elena's heart as she watched how conquered he looked.

"Get away from me," he pleaded. A coughing fit started and more blood spluttered from his mouth. It landed on Elena's shirt, but she didn't even flinch.

Another blow to his face sent his head turning in pain. Damon felt his canines start to elongate from his gums, but he kept his veins in check.

"Drink."

One more hit to the face had Damon turning into the predator that he was. When he whipped his head back to look at Elena she gasped in surprise. His natural instincts kicked in and their roles were reversed. No longer was Elena supporting Damon by the shoulders. Instead, his hands gripped her upper arms roughly and he plunged his fangs into her closed over wound.

Elena's jaw went slack as Damon pulled gulp after gulp from her neck. She didn't know when it happened but she was on her back in the same spot Damon and she was just lying in. He was on top of her; his lower half pressing into her pelvic region.

As her vision started to fade her legs kicked out to let Damon know that he couldn't take anymore. Her hand scraped at his back; pulling his hair in desperation. He still didn't stop. She couldn't make a sound as trickles of blood ran down her chest and stained her top.

Her other hand reached out in one last attempt to gain Damon's attention. It hit his side table hard and knocked off the glass tumbler. The last thing Elena remembered hearing was the glass shattering.

Everything went black.

* * *

**Let me know what you guys think! This is just a prologue. Other chapters will be longer. I promise!**


	2. Love Me

**Thanks for the reviews, favorites, likes, and everything in general. I hope this chapter does my story justice. Let me know what you think!**

* * *

_"Know I've done wrong,  
I left your heart torn.  
Is that what devils do?"  
_Love me Again-John Newman

Damon had never tasted anything like Elena's blood. It smeared on his lips and drizzled down his chin sloppily. Normally, he was careful about how he fed, but once again, Elena had taken control of the situation and forced him to feed. He didn't notice the slowing of her heart beat, didn't feel her hands on his overly sensitive skin, and he didn't hear the slight gasp that left her puckered lips.

However, the blood started to come out in less heaps and as soon as Damon could see straight again, his lips pulled back and he leaned his forehead against her open wound. Slowly, he took his body weight off of her and smiled weakly. He didn't know what or how this happened, but he no longer felt vulnerable and frail. Damon felt better than he ever had before.

The euphoric feeling he was experiencing could only compare to the briefest second earlier in the night when he accidentally bit Elena on the neck when imagining Katherine. He had taken little blood and he had felt it course through his veins for a second before collapsing from the exhaustion of searching for the teenage girl. But it was her blood that kept him alive while being cradled in her arms earlier and it was her blood now that made him feel like the strongest man alive.

"Elena," he whispered while lying right next to her. His hand found hers and cushioned it softly; intertwining their fingers. "Elena?" This alarmed him now and he sat up using vampire speed. His hands shook her shoulders as worry consumed him. Damon bit into his wrist and forced it to her mouth.

"You have to drink, Elena," he instructed frantically. Forcing her mouth open and his bleeding wrist into her mouth Damon knew that Elena wasn't latching on. "Don't quit on me now, Gilbert." He tried to stay strong, but tears blurred his vision.

Damon didn't waste any time. He knew Elena wasn't going to respond. He could hear her heartbeat slowing as her eyes fluttered shut. He couldn't lose her and so acting quickly, he rushed to get her down to his car. If he couldn't save her then there was one place in town that would.

* * *

Stefan watched carefully as Klaus held him by his throat. He had just witnessed Klaus stabbing Elijah and double crossing his own brother. There was no wonder what Klaus was willing to do to Stefan. Although, Stefan chose to believe that Klaus wanted to keep him alive for a reason. After all, he didn't die at the ritual. Klaus allowed him to live.

"What will I do with you?" Klaus hummed gleefully. Stefan's eyes connected with Katherine's who stood in the shadows of the loft. Within a fraction of a second, Klaus had a stake in Stefan's stomach, grazing his heart. "Do you feel that?" He leaned on the hybrid's shoulder as he gasped in pain. "I'm grazing your heart. One wrong movement and you're dead."

"He's just trying to save his brother," Katherine said boldly. Deep down she couldn't stand seeing Stefan like this; even if she had caused him pain in the past. She knew what the Salvatore's meant to one another. They were brothers and ultimately, nothing would change that.

"The witches said you have the cure. Please," Stefan was desperate. "I'll do anything. Just give me the cure."

Klaus licked his lips and ripped the stake out of Stefan's chest. Klaus moved over to the counter and started to pour blood…human blood…into a glass tumbler. "Here's the thing," Klaus' tone was one of bitterness, "Yes, I had the cure, but then I killed the cure."

Stefan's eyes caught onto Katherine's for a brief moment before he looked at Klaus expectantly. The hybrid smirked and handed Stefan the glass that smelled overwhelming. "Drink up, mate."

Stefan eyed the tumbler and before Katherine could try to stop him from getting hooked on human blood again Klaus had her pinned against the wall with the same bloody stake he used on Stefan.

"No moving, love," Klaus purred as he made sure the stake wasn't falling out of the wall anytime soon. Katherine wheezed in pain while Klaus stroked her face almost too soothingly. "I've waited five hundred years for you. I was really hoping to use you for the human doppelganger sacrifice, but dear Elena had to take your place. She wasn't stupid enough to defy me." Klaus snapped Katherine's neck and when he turned around to look at Stefan he was pleased with the results.

Stefan had blood coating his upper lip as if he had just gotten done drinking a glass of white milk, his hands were shaking and inching towards the other blood bag on the counter, and the tumbler was completely empty.

"Please Klaus. Tell me what the cure is," Stefan hissed with all the restraint in his body.

Klaus's lips curled wickedly in pleasure. "The human doppelganger that was used to break the hybrid curse." Klaus tossed another blood bag at Stefan; not even bothering to put it in a cup. "Drink again. All of it and I'll let you go." Klaus looked down at Elijah's gray remains and Katherine's still body. "I have _things_ to attend to, mate."

* * *

Damon cradled Elena's body close to his chest. He was aware that he was getting his expensive shirt dirty with red blood that would most likely stain and dry and harden. No longer was he covered in blood that coated his forehead and lips when he fed. Using his vampire abilities to speed, wipe his forehead down, and keep pressure on Elena's neck came in handy.

He didn't know if he was going crazy by thinking he could rely on doctors and nurses at the local hospital or if he was just plain desperate since Elena wouldn't wake up to drink his blood to heal. Damon just knew that the girl in his arms didn't deserve to die like this. He couldn't be the reason why she died; not after everything she had been through the past year.

"Help!" He called out as he ran into the emergency room. "She needs blood!" He looked straight ahead of himself and saw an open hospital bed. He took her to the emergency room that was connected to the clinic her father used to work at. Elena needed immediate attention and he would give it to her.

A nurse with long black hair joined him while looking at Elena. "She was attacked by an animal. She needs blood," he rushed out; looking down at the small girl to make sure she was situated on the bed correctly.

A doctor came into the room before the nurse could say anything. Damon didn't recognize the woman, but she turned to him and kept her eyes on his. "Tell me what happened. I need to know everything."

"She was attacked by something. She lost a lot of blood. You have to help her."

"Okay," the woman said. Damon read her name tag and frowned a second as he noticed her tag read _Dr. Meredith Fell_. She probably was related to Logan Fell. Dr. Fell shouted out instructions to the nurse and the nurse was out of the room before Damon could register what was happening.

"Is she going to be okay?" Damon demanded.

"I need you to go sit in the hallway. We have to stabilize her."

Damon didn't want to be separated from Elena. She looked so small and helpless lying in the large hospital bed.

"Please sir," Dr. Fell left no room for discussion. Her voice was strong. "Go sit outside. If you want her to be okay you have to let me do my job."

Damon's blue eyes hooked onto Dr. Fells. His pupils dilated. "Treat Elena as your most precious patient. I expect you to give her your full attention until she's fully healed. Understand?"

Dr. Fell's eyes dilated for a second before she robotically repeated what Damon told her. Damon left the room then, whipping out his cell phone to make an important phone call. The phone rang once, twice, a third time and Damon was becoming too impatient.

"You're on your deathbed and you decide to call me? I'm touched," Alaric teased groggily. It was obvious that he had been sleeping. "I hope this is good. I already had to deal with one dead person today. I hope I don't have to deal with your corpse too."

"It's Elena, Ric. We're at the emergency room."

Before Damon could respond anymore he saw the curtain to Elena's makeshift room close. Since they were in the emergency room and not the actual hospital there weren't actual rooms. Only pink curtains separated patients in critical conditions.

* * *

Elena slowly opened her eyes and squinted at how bright the lights above her were. Slowly she felt her neck and felt the patch against her skin. The bite marks were still there, however they were closed over and weren't bleeding anymore.

"Good," a woman's voice said candidly. "You're awake." Elena sat up in her hospital bed and frowned when she saw Isobel standing at the foot of her bed. John was next to her and behind her two biological parents stood Jenna, her father, and her mother. "You've been sleeping for a while."

"Am I dreaming?" Elena asked.

"It's more like a premonition or a warning," John said. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired…confused…mostly confused."

"That's to be expected. You were nearly killed," Miranda said, stepping forward. She laid her hand over Elena's and within the single touch she saw the car crash that claimed her parents' lives.

"I'm so sorry, mom and dad," Elena spoke, but before she could continue both Grayson and Jenna surrounded her bed too. She was surrounded by her family.

"There's no time for that, honey," Grayson said.

"It's time to finish this war," Jenna said.

"What?" Elena was even more confused now. "I don't know how. Klaus can't be killed."

"He might not be able to die, but you can desiccate him," Isobel revealed. "Nothing can last forever. I was supposed to be immortal and I died because of the sun."

"I had the Gilbert ring to protect me and even that couldn't save me," John explained.

"There's always a way, sweetie. Locate Abby Bennett and she'll know what to do," Miranda said before they all started to fade and Elena woke up to reality this time.

She turned over in bed and pushed herself up to a sitting position. She wasn't connected to monitors, but she was wearing a hospital gown and she had gauze over her wound with tape.

"Klaus has to die," Elena murmured to herself.

* * *

"Where is she?" Jeremy demanded the moment he rushed into the emergency room and spotted Damon sitting in a chair, his head in his hands and his fingers tangled in his hair. "Is she okay?"

Damon stood up. Jeremy, Alaric, Caroline, and Bonnie stood before him. The two girls had tears in their eyes, but Damon chose to ignore it. He didn't handle tears too well; even with girls who hated him with a passion. Jeremy looked around frantically; searching for his last family member and Damon would do anything to calm the younger Gilbert in that moment. Jeremy might get on Damon's nerves, but he liked the kid. He had character and strength that Damon hasn't seen in a long time.

"She's going to be okay," Damon said. "Dr. Fell treated her and she's going to be okay."

"Why didn't you just give her your blood?" Caroline demanded.

"Would you say that a little louder, Blondie? I don't think the patients down the hall heard you," Damon was sarcastic as he growled at Caroline for her stupidity.

The blonde looked a little ashamed of her careless actions, but shrugged as if she were indifferent.

"And to answer your question, I couldn't. I tried, but…" He trailed off.

"But she was already unconscious," Alaric filled in for Damon; as if reading his friend's thoughts.

"Not to ruin the mood even more, but I thought you were on your deathbed?" Bonnie asked with a quirked eye brow. "And where's Stefan?"

"You look perfectly fine to me. Are you sure Tyler actually bit you?" Caroline accused.

"He did. I was dying and needed blood. Somehow her blood healed me. I don't know why or how or the logistics of it and I tried called Stefan…a lot…but his phone is off," Damon gritted out. "Are we done with twenty fucking questions?"

"You fed off her," Jeremy stated. He seemed confused for a moment before it all sunk in. "You drained her."

A silence settled between the group as Damon felt the judgmental eyes on him. "I didn't want too, but…she was persuasive."

"I thought Stefan was a dick for letting Elena make her own stupid choices. He was letting her sacrifice herself, and for a moment I wanted to help you Damon, but…how could you do that to her?" Jeremy started to walk away. "I actually thought for a moment that you were the better one for her."

One by one they walked past Damon to take a seat by Jeremy. When it was just Alaric and Damon standing Damon noticed just how tired Alaric looked. After losing his girlfriend, taking care of Jeremy when he died that night, and now Elena Damon was surprised Alaric wasn't graying in the hair from all the stress.

"She's going to be okay, buddy," Alaric said softly. He clapped Damon on the shoulder and offered him a small smile. "I get it, Damon. I don't understand it completely and I'm not sure I want to, but I don't blame you. Elena is stubborn. We both know she always gets what she wants."

Pointless conversations went on; directed by Caroline. They mostly consisted of her talking about Tyler returning and deciding to stay. The quarterback, Matt, now knew about vampires and how she and Matt were officially done…again. Sheriff Forbes now knew about vampires and tried to kill him, but instead, ended up shooting Jeremy. Damon didn't remember that, but apparently Jeremy had taken care of him until he found Elena.

Caroline was in the middle of nervous rambling about the _Klaus_ situation when Elena walked down the hallway in her clothes that she was wearing before. Dried blood coated the top of her shirt in speckles but she didn't seem to mind. Damon had to wonder if that was his blood or her blood on her clothes.

"Elena!" Jeremy exclaimed. He rushed towards his sister and enveloped her in a hug. "How do you feel?"

When they pulled away she offered him a smile. "I feel okay. Better than okay, actually." She looked at her friends and noticed Stefan wasn't there. But she also noticed that Damon was with her and he didn't look like he was on his deathbed. "Are you okay?" She asked him. "How are you cured?"

"You don't remember him feeding from you?" Caroline asked bluntly.

"I do," Elena insisted. She didn't take her eyes off of Damon as she stepped closer to him. She looked at the spot where the bite mark used to be and smiled gratefully. "Stefan found the cure?"

"Not exactly. Long story short; your blood is the cure for a wolf bite." Damon looked at where Elena's hand sat on his skin. She hadn't pulled away and instead, her fingers trailed down his exposed arm and touched his hand delicately. Her warm touch tickled his skin and just when he thought she was going to actually hold his hand and intertwine their fingers, she pulled away and cleared her throat.

"Then where's Stefan? I have something to tell everyone." Elena looked at Caroline knowing that if Damon wasn't able to get a hold of his brother then Caroline would be the other person who might be able to find him. They had grown close over the last couple of months after Caroline's transition.

"We've tried calling," Bonnie explained. "I'm sure it's nothing, but no one has heard from him since he went to go and see Klaus."

Elena worried her bottom lip between her teeth for a moment before deciding, "Okay, we'll go back to the boarding house and if he's not there then we'll track him down."

"Um Elena?" Caroline asked. "Care to tell us what plan you came up with while you were unconscious?"

"I know how to get rid of Klaus."

No one said anything after Elena's revelation. They didn't know how to respond. Caroline and Bonnie seriously thought Elena was going crazy.

"Call Tyler and Matt and have them meet us at the boarding house. We'll need them for this. We'll need everyone," Elena instructed once they all left the emergency room. Luckily Damon used his compulsion so Elena didn't need an official guardian to check her out.

"Are you coming with us?" Jeremy asked as he and Alaric headed to Alaric's car.

Elena looked at Caroline and Bonnie who were heading to Caroline's small car, then back to Alaric and Jeremy, and then she looked behind herself at Damon's blue camaro that he valued maybe more than his life.

"I'll meet you there. Damon and I have to talk first."

She turned back to Damon and he led her to his car silently. He opened her car door and expected her to get in right away but she didn't.

"We need to talk, Damon," she whispered; knowing that he would be able to hear every word she said.

He pursed his lips and smiled sarcastically. "Not really. I don't really do the whole talking thing."

Elena sighed. He was deflecting, but she wouldn't go along with it. Instead, she pushed back knowing that they had to talk things through or else it would become awkward and they couldn't be awkward around one another at a time like this.

"Normally, I would go along with you and ignore our issues, but we have a war ahead of us. We can't ignore what's between us."

"And what is between us, Elena?" Damon asked. He leaned against his car casually and waited for her calculated response. He didn't know where she wanted to take this conversation, but if she was up to sharing her feelings then he would go along for the ride. "You have to tell me because I am honestly lost when it comes to you and your feelings. One moment you're with Stefan and hating me and then the next you're in my bed laying a big wet one right on my lips."

Elena took in Damon's body language and winced. His body was practically shaking in anger and confusion.

"I know I probably confused you, but—"

"Confused me?" Damon laughed bitterly. "That's an understatement. I come to your house and practically beg for your apology and you're ready to just write me off and ignore me. But the moment you find out that I'm dying you're willing to do anything that's stupid to save me. How could you make me feed off of you?" He stepped closer to her and his eyes raked over her body. No longer were his eyes a baby blue, but a deep blue that scorched her.

"I couldn't let you die, Damon." Elena moved forward to lay her hand on him, but she gasped in shock as Damon turned them brutally and held her against his car. He was gripping her upper arms as his eyes burned holes into her face.

"And you think I could let you die? I drank too much blood that I couldn't even heal you because I knocked you unconscious." Damon's breath mingled with hers. He held her an inch away from him; their bodies mingling in an intimate way. "What makes it okay that you save me but get hurt in the process?"

"I couldn't watch you die," she pleaded with him. Tears clouded her vision and her own arms clung to his body. "I couldn't see you like that because it hurt, okay!" She screamed with anger and frustration. "I've never seen you like that before and it was hurting me because I care about you and I know I shouldn't because of Stefan but I can't help it! So yes, Damon, I gave you my blood. I didn't know it was the cure but I'm glad it is because now you're safe and I wouldn't change anything about my decision. I will gladly force you to drink my blood if you're ever infected again!"

Damon stared down at her with a blank look. The only question coming out of his mouth was, "You care about me?"

"I thought I made that obvious the moment I hit you today," Elena groaned in annoyance.

Damon took a deep breath and swallowed thickly. "But you're still with Stefan…my baby brother who is probably looking for the both of us."

Elena leaned her forehead against Damon's and took a calming breath. "I know," she whispered. "He cares about both of us. He loves both of us. I can't hurt him, Damon, but—"

"I get it," Damon whispered painfully. "It's always going to be Stefan."

"But I kissed you tonight." Her hands ran up his sides and circled around his neck intimately. "I have feelings that I can't explain, but I know they have something to do with you."

Their noses touched and as Elena tilted her head to the right for a better angle, she was about to let her lips touch Damon's again, but one voice stopped them both and froze them to the core.

"Hello brother," Stefan greeted with a sneer.

Stefan circled around Elena and Damon as they stood frozen in their spots. Elena's arms dropped slowly from Damon's body and she looked down at the ground guiltily.

"I got your twenty messages," Stefan explained. Elena risked a look at Damon. She didn't like the tone of Stefan's voice. It seemed too snide…too dark…mysterious. "When I went inside I could smell blood everywhere. Elena's stood out the most though. So prominent…potent and lethal."

"Stefan, I can explain," Elena said nervously. "But first we have to go to the boarding house. I'll explain everything."

Stefan chuckled. "You fed from her. I guess I don't have to make the decision of telling you whether or not she's the cure." Stefan was speaking only to Damon now.

"What do you mean?" Elena demanded. Damon raised his chin defiantly as he narrowed his eyes on Stefan. Elena might not have noticed but Damon could smell the human blood on Stefan's breath. He could see the red stain on his upper lip. "You weren't going to tell us about the cure?"

Stefan took a step closer to Elena, but Damon effectively stood in between them. He crossed his arms. "Stay back Elena. He's on the human stuff now."

"You just love making me look like the bad guy, don't you _big brother_," Stefan taunted.

"Stefan!" Elena admonished. "You didn't kill anyone, right?"

"Your wound is still fresh," he stated. "Why don't you come closer and I'll tell you."

It happened so fast that Elena almost missed it. Damon sent a right hook to Stefan's face and gripped his neck with a twist and a snap. Damon caught his brother's fallen body. He dug the keys out of his pocket and pressed them into Elena's hand.

"You drive. I'll sit in the back with him. If he wakes up I'll make sure he stays down."

"I don't get it," Elena looked at the keys in her hand, to Stefan's limp body, and then to Damon who looked just as worried as her. "Did Klaus do this to him?"

"I don't know," Damon griped. "But I plan on figuring it out." He looked up at Elena and gave her a small smile. "I promise, Elena. Everything will be okay."


	3. 3 Angel With a Shotgun

"_They say before you start a war,  
you better know what you're fighting for.  
Well baby, you are all that I adore,  
if love is what you need, a soldier I will be."_

Pressure was building in Elena's head. She didn't know if it was because of her trip to the hospital, lack of sleep, or stress from Damon almost dying and now Stefan was on human blood again, finding out the fact that Jeremy technically died and Bonnie brought him back to life, or that Sheriff Forbes and Matt knew everything about vampires and supernatural beings now.

"So you want us to find Bonnie's mom so she can help us get rid of Klaus?" Caroline asked skeptically. She was sitting on the couch near Tyler with her legs crossed and a glass tumbler filled with alcohol sitting in her hands.

Elena looked from a shocked Bonnie who hadn't uttered a word since Abby Bennett's name was mentioned back to Caroline. "I know it sounds crazy and that she left more than fifteen years ago, but she's the key to getting Klaus out of our lives." No one said a word as Elena looked at her friends who were nearly cringing in disbelief, Jeremy who holding Bonnie's hand in comfort, and then Alaric. Elena's face filled with hope, wishing that Alaric would agree with her. He had the respect of everyone in the room; their group would listen to him.

"First we'll dagger him. I know it won't kill him or harm him, but with the other originals, if they were daggered then their compulsion stopped working. Maybe if we dagger Klaus then his compulsion on Stefan will stop and then we'll make our move when he's at his weakest. It must be a spell we have to use. Isobel and mom weren't specific but Isobel said not everyone can last forever and mom said to locate Abby."

"Was this before or after you were unconscious?" Tyler asked.

He meant it as a joke. Caroline, Matt, and Tyler were finding it hard to believe that Elena saw her parents, aunt, and biological parents while she was recovering at the hospital. Elena knew it wasn't a dream. It hadn't felt like it. Also, John had told her it was a premonition; a warning of what had to happen.

Elena answered him with a serious face as if he were the crazy one in the room. "Neither. It was during." Elena groaned as Caroline and Tyler shared a look of doubt. She pushed herself out of the chair and crossed her arms. So far everyone had been basically silent, but silence sometimes spoke louder than words.

"This might work. We definitely won't rule out any suggestions," Alaric said firmly from behind his glass tumbler. He took a long draw of his beverage before putting the empty glass down.

Elena placed her hands on Alaric's forearm. "Thank you," she said sincerely before something took over her. It made her gasp in pain; clutching Alaric's arm and falling to her knees. Elena's eyes stayed closed no matter how many times her friends called out to her. It was like Elena could hear her group, but in her mind, Elena was seeing and feeling other things.

A young boy, no older than sixteen was running down a dark alleyway. His forehead was cut above his eye, his shoulder was bruised beyond repair and he had a small limp due to a huge gash on his right leg. Elena felt all of the pain this boy was feeling.

He stopped at a dead end and hid in the corners as the blaring sirens passed. Just when Elena thought the boy was alone, a voice startled him.

"Did you get the money?" It called out.

The boy dug through his dirty blue jeans, wincing a little at how his right leg stung. Elena could feel the material rubbing up against the cut. It was as if the boy and she shared the same injuries. No doubt, the leg was infected too.

"Sure did," he said. With trembling hands he gave it to the older boy.

"Good work little brother," the older one said while clapping the smaller boy on the back. Elena squinted in confusion as she tried to recognize the younger male. He had sandy colored hair, his skin wasn't pale but it wasn't necessarily dark either, and he was taller than her already. "You should rest up for tomorrow. We'll meet here same time."

The sandy color hair boy was rubbing his shoulder delicately and Elena wished he wouldn't because it was only causing them both more pain. She reached up to her own shoulder to hold it in place as if that would stop the cause.

"They didn't look like bad people, Shawn. They were just kids like us," the young one said.

Shawn, the older one, narrowed his eyes. He had a temper, Elena could tell. It became even more obvious when his hand reached out in a vice like grip and wrapped around the thin neck of the boy. Elena gasped for air, clawing at her own neck, but she couldn't feel any hand around her throat. She could only feel an invisible force.

"Stop!" Elena screamed, but it was becoming muffled as her oxygen source was getting cut off.

Shawn slammed his brother against the wall and Elena's body sung with throbbing bones and aches. "Can't breathe…" Elena and the boy both rasped out. It was as if she were a ghost in this world. She just wanted to get back to her friends whose voices had faded from her mind now.

"Don't go soft on me now. We need this money!" Shawn slammed his brother against the wall for emphasis. "_I_ need this money!" He took his hand off his brother and smirked dangerously. Shawn straightened his collar and physically rolled his shoulders as if that would calm him down. "Now come on, Alaric. We have to get you home and cleaned up before mother sees."

That was the last Elena saw of Shawn and Alaric before she felt herself floating, and her eyes shot open in surprise. She still felt as though she could feel the injuries on Alaric…her and Jeremy's Alaric. Was that really him? She kind of figured he had a rough past, but this was unlike anything she's ever imagined. This was a side of him that he hadn't shown anyone in Mystic Falls.

When Elena fully opened her eyes she was aware of the fact that she was still gripping onto Alaric's forearm as if her life depended on it. The pain was slowly subsiding and she looked sheepishly up at her history teacher for a meek apology.

"Sorry." She extracted her hand from him. Somehow they moved her to one of the many couches in the parlor even though she obviously didn't let go of Alaric.

"Are you okay?" Damon asked, coming up besides Alaric and Elena sat up. She touched her shoulder carefully and frowned when she thought back to how much pain Alaric felt in the flashback she had.

"Yeah. I'm fine now," Elena said uneasily.

"You were screaming and it was freaky and scary," Caroline said. "You had bruises covering your throat, and blood started seeping through your jeans. Thank god all that disappeared when you started waking up. Your jeans would have been ruined and that would have been a tragedy."

"Caroline," Bonnie lightly scolded, "She doesn't care about her jeans."

Elena felt her forehead where the cut was. It was completely gone. Elena looked around the parlor and at her friends' scared faces. Behind Jeremy a table was smashed and broken into a hundred wood pieces.

"I didn't break anything, did I?" Elena asked; looking between Alaric and Damon.

Damon rubbed the back of his neck and turned away from her. He went to his drink that was across the room.

"Damon went all hulk on the table when you were in pain. Bonnie was trying to do her spell to take some of the pain away, but the witches won't let her do magic anymore," Jeremy said and the moment he told his sister about Damon losing control of his anger, Damon slapped Jeremy upside the head. "Hey!" Jeremy exclaimed.

Damon narrowed his eyes on Jeremy in a warning.

"What happened? What did you see?" Bonnie asked.

"Honestly?" Elena bit her lip as she looked up at Alaric. Should she tell everyone what she saw? It seemed personal to Alaric if he hadn't told any of them yet. He probably didn't want to reveal that part of him and Elena would protect his secret. She just decided to leave out major details. "I felt pain. A lot of it. I touched Alaric's arm and it was as if I were in a flashback. I could feel every ounce of emotional, physical and mental pain Alaric had in my flashback. It was as if I were a ghost. No one could see me but I could see them. It was creepy."

A flash of panic entered Alaric's eyes. "What age was I?"

"About sixteen. Maybe a little younger."

"Is this a setback to the spell you cast on her, witch?" Damon snarled. "Because if so then you'll pay for this."

Bonnie raised her chin defiantly, but before she could utter a response, Matt cut everyone off and stood up abruptly. He looked extremely pale as his blue eyes were shining from being overwhelmed.

"What the hell is going on here? Tyler's a wolf? Stefan's locked in some cellar in the basement? My ex-girlfriend is a vampire and my other ex is having premonitions and flashbacks. And oh yeah, Damon killed Vicki which no one told me about!" He looked hurt as he stared into Elena's eyes.

"I trusted you out of everyone, Elena." Matt exclaimed. He was trying so hard not to break down. It was overwhelming to find out about everything supernatural and now he knew the truth about his sister.

"Matt," Elena started to say. She stood up and even though she was slightly dizzy, she walked closer to him. "I can explain."

"I never thought you would keep something like this from me. What if it was Jeremy that was killed and I kept the truth from you? Huh!" Matt yelled.

"I'm sorry," Elena cried. "I wanted to tell you."

"If you wanted to tell me then you would have. Instead you left me to wonder who would kill her like that. Who would just kill and bury her like she meant nothing? And you knew the whole time. In fact, you don't just know who did it, but you're falling for the monster who did this to Vicki!" Matt grabbed his jacket on the couch and stormed out.

"Matt," Caroline tried desperately to pull their friend back to them.

"Don't you start too, Caroline." He gave her an icy stare. "You're just as bad as Elena." Matt left and right before the door slammed shut, a shattering could be heard. The vase by the door was left in shards of glass. Elena winced.

"He'll come around," Tyler said with certainty.

"Will he?" Bonnie snapped. "Vicki was his sister," Bonnie nearly cried out in frustration.

"What do we do now?" Jeremy asked as he sulked on the couch.

Elena looked at Damon. She was torn down the middle from Matt's words. How could she keep something so important from him? She was covering for Stefan and Damon, she told herself. But that didn't give her the right to lie about someone's death; especially one of her best friend's sister. And the way Matt called Damon a monster made Elena feel unsettled. She knew Damon acted like a monster when he first came to Mystic Falls, but he had changed. No one really saw it that much, but Elena saw it every day in Damon. He was different; better and more in control.

"We continue with the plan. We need Abby Bennett so Bonnie, Jeremy, and Alaric should start looking for her. Get Sheriff Forbes to help with that." Elena turned to Caroline and Tyler. "We need to catch Klaus off guard still; that means weapons for everyone. Weapons, weapons, and more weapons. Go to the armory outside of town. Use compulsion if you get caught," Elena advised.

On the outside Elena was strong and confident when giving orders. She knew why Stefan and Damon loved being in charge all the time when their groups made plans. It was exhilarating when everyone listened. But on the inside she was a mess. She wanted to curl up in a ball on her bed and cry herself to sleep from the stress of the week. She, Jeremy, and Alaric weren't even given time to grieve for Jenna properly.

"Got it," Caroline said. "My mom should have keys to the building too so I'll grab those to make it easier."

"What will you and Damon be doing?" Bonnie asked.

"Yes," Damon sarcastically agreed. "What will we be doing?"

"We have to deal with Stefan. We need him on our side for this. That means figuring out what happened between him and Klaus, getting him under control, and hopefully then he'll cooperate." Elena ran a hand through her hair. "Also, we need a dagger. Any I'm guessing Klaus has extra stakes in Alaric's loft. We have to get one."

"I was hoping you wouldn't say that," Damon said while finishing his drink.

One by one they all left for their own homes. Alaric and Jeremy stood by the door, waiting for Elena. No one could start the tasks that they were given that night. It was late and they were all tired. They were all meeting the next morning and then starting their responsibilities.

"You coming Elena?" Alaric asked. "I'm giving Jeremy a ride home and I'll probably crash on the couch if that's okay." Alaric didn't want to tell them how protective he was of them. He felt responsible for them now since they didn't have any other family members left. And now Elena might not even want him as a guardian due to what she saw when she touched his arm.

Elena looked from Alaric to Damon who stood at the end of the hallway. She bit her lip and shook her head no. "I'll be fine here tonight. I need to stay."

Alaric seemed to hesitate, but Damon came up behind Elena and laid his hand on her shoulder. He grinned at Alaric and Jeremy, wiggling his eye brows because Elena couldn't see him joking about the situation. "She'll be fine, here."

Alaric narrowed his eyes at his friend's behavior before deciding quickly that Elena would be safer in the boarding house with Damon protecting her.

"We'll see you guys tomorrow morning."

Once they were gone, Elena turned in Damon's arms and sighed. "Matt is hurt and it's my fault. He blames me."

"He doesn't blame you. He blames me and Stefan and is just taking it out on you because he knows you won't hurt him anymore. If he blamed a vampire then we might not just be able to control our emotions and snap his neck for being a punk."

Elena glared. "It's my fault I didn't tell him. I should have told him sooner. He was right. If it were Jeremy and he kept something like that from me I would never be able to forgive him." Elena pushed out of Damon's hands and walked over to his built in bar. She poured herself a glass of Damon's good bourbon and he raised his eye brow in amusement.

"You would forgive him because that's what you do, Elena. You forgive people when they are stupid and not thinking." Damon walked closer to Elena, invading her personal space. His warm fingers reached out and played with a strand of hair, smiling gently. He wasn't sure what their boundaries were anymore. Stefan was trapped in the basement and as far as Damon could hear, he was still knocked out from the second dose of vervain that he gave him.

"You forgave me for Vicki. You didn't blame me for the tomb vampires. And when I snapped Jeremy's neck you still forgave me even when I didn't deserve it."

Damon's voice was a warm whisper caressing Elena's face. It felt as if all their problems vanished when she placed her glass tumbler down and stared up into Damon's dark blue eyes. "I had to forgive you. I needed to forgive you because the idea that you might not be in my life because of my own stubbornness hurts to just think about."

Elena had kissed Damon. She would have been ready to declare it as a pity kiss, but the moment Damon pulled her blood from her all her doubt and worry about his love for her disappeared. It was as if her head had never been this clear in her entire life and the only man she could think of was Damon. She may be technically dating Stefan still, but she couldn't drag both brothers along. Even if Damon wasn't ready to have a relationship with her, she had to call things off with Stefan. It was only a matter of time before Stefan figured it out on his own and Elena owed him answers.

"Damon," Elena whispered softly. He felt her body move closer to his. "I don't want to hurt Stefan, but he has to know. I don't want to deny my feelings anymore. I can't."

Damon groaned playfully to keep the mood light. "I never thought that I would be the one to say this, but we can't tell him anything right now. He's hanging on by a thread downstairs and the guilt would eat you alive if you thought for one second that you're responsible for his downward spiral."

Elena nodded. She hated to admit it, but Damon was right. They couldn't tell Stefan anything. She would never forgive herself if Stefan started killing because of her.

"Okay. I won't say anything," Elena said.

"He's going to be out for a while now. You should get some sleep," Damon said.

"What about you?" Elena asked.

Damon smirked his usual smirk. Elena's heart skipped a beat as she watched his eyes twinkle with mischief. "I'm going to sleep too."

Damon wasn't sure of their boundaries, but he was going to push them until Elena told him to stop. He just really hoped she would never tell him too. He wanted the full deal with her. He wanted their passion to continue, their intimate touches that no one ever seemed to notice but them, the laughter and smile that reached Elena's ears, the warm blush that coated her face whenever he caught her looking at his lips, and most importantly he wanted Elena to accept him and only him. If he needed to be labeled as her boyfriend for Elena to accept him then he would be her boyfriend.

He felt an ounce of guilt in the pit of his stomach as he thought of his unconscious brother. Stefan was his blood brother and Damon, unbeknownst to anyone, had always taken care of Stefan. Even Lexi didn't know that Damon constantly looked out for Stefan whenever he heard word of his brother creating havoc around the nation. But it was Damon's time to be happy too. He didn't want an eternity of misery. And if Elena is willing to choose him, then Damon wouldn't deny her.

"What are you doing?" Elena asked once Damon's hands grabbed onto her hips.

He smirked before hauling her up and over his shoulder so her legs were kicking in mid air and her hands reached out to grip his own waist in an attempt to steady herself. She was practically upside down as he used vampire speed to get to his room upstairs.

"Damon!" Elena squealed with laughter. It took no effort at all to get Elena to his room. Their earlier activities were apparent based upon the state of his room. Damon didn't think he's ever seen his room this messy.

The bed sheets were rumpled, some pillows laid on the ground in a messy bundle, a glass tumbler was shattered on the floor and drops of sticky blood coated the ground. The sweet scent of Elena attacked his nostrils as he looked at the blood on the ground.

When he put Elena down her face was red and her smile was huge. She smacked his chest playfully as she continued to laugh. "What was that for?"

"I've just always wanted to do that." When Elena looked behind herself at the state of his room he rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "It's kind of a mess right now."

"That's okay," Elena said easily before stepping around the glass carefully and bouncing onto Damon's bed. She shouldn't feel this happy, but being with Damon had this affect on her. "Are you going to come to bed or are you just going to stand there?"

"Don't you think we should talk?" Damon asked.

Elena furrowed her eye brow. Since when did they reverse roles and Damon was the more sensible one? "Okay. We can talk."

Damon sat by her and took her hands in his. "About your little flashback downstairs when you touched Alaric," Damon explained quietly. "What happened?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. All I know is that when I touched his arm I saw him as a young boy. He had an older brother, you know? I don't know if he's still around, but his name was Shawn. Alaric seemed to be into some pretty intense stuff. It was as if I felt everything he felt." Elena looked down at their hands before looking at Damon with tears in her eyes. "What's wrong with me?"

It pained Damon to see Elena so broken and confused. "Nothing is wrong with you. I promise you. Are you uh…are you okay with this?" Damon nodded towards their touching skin. "Cause I don't want to set off another flashback. It must be because of the contact you made with him."

"It's okay. I don't like them, but I wouldn't mind seeing something from your past."

Damon's face grew dark as he frowned thoughtfully. "Trust me, Elena," he spoke sincerely, "You don't want to know any of my memories. I wouldn't want to put you through that."

Elena turned and cupped Damon's face. "I don't want you to hide from me. I told you earlier tonight that I'm with you until the very end and—"

"That was when you thought I was dying," Damon pointed out.

"_And_," Elena emphasized, "I'm sticking to my promise. I am not leaving." She looked down at his lips tentatively before slowly laying her soft lips on top of his. It took Damon a second to respond to her light touch, but his hands reached up and tangled in her hair; pulling her closer so she had no choice but to move on his lap. Both of her legs wrapped around his waist as their chests pressed together.

When they separated their foreheads rested against one another. "Things are confusing right now. Matt's at his breaking point, Jeremy died tonight, Stefan is compelled by Klaus to do God knows what, and then there is Klaus. Our lives are crazy and dangerous, but I'm certain about one thing Damon. I am in this completely. I wasn't sure before, but if it's okay with you, I'm going to stick by your side and I won't leave."

Damon's eyes held wonder. He looked at Elena as if she were a foreign creature sitting in his lap. His dark blue eyes became darker and Elena could hardly see the blue in them anymore. She gasped slightly as his hand that was tangled in her hair pulled her head back slightly for a better angle.

Damon didn't say anything and Elena wasn't really expecting him too. Instead, he sealed his content with a kiss. It was firm, demanding, and hot when his lips seared Elena's. Falling back into bed, they tangled themselves within his sheets while their lips never stopped touching. And when fatigue finally took over Elena's body, she fell asleep with Damon on top of her, his lips lying gently against her own.

* * *

**Review Please! Tell me what you think! What flashbacks would you guys be intrigued to see?**


End file.
